ABINGTON, Pa. — A group of Penn State Abington students examined rare materials and discussed research with renowned scholars recently at one of the world’s preeminent libraries.
Marissa Nicosia, assistant professor of English; Christina Riehman-Murphy, reference and instruction librarian; and Heather Froehlich, Literary Informatics Librarian at University Libraries accompanied the students to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The Folger houses the world’s largest collection of the works of William Shakespeare and is the premier site to research the culture of Shakespeare’s England.
The students’ visit was sparked by their study of recipe books from the Early Modern era, roughly the late 15th to the late 18th centuries. In Shakespearean-era English households, families collected culinary and medicinal knowledge in recipe books.
Using a digitized manuscript at the Folger as a jumping-off point, the students used an Early Modern recipe book to explore questions about ecology, food, medicine and women’s history.
While visiting the Folger, the Abington students viewed recipe manuscripts and explored an exhibition titled "First Chefs: Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas." Nicosia’s ongoing collaboration with scholars at the library includes her role on the curatorial team for First Chefs.
Alexis Amicone, an English major, said the site visit allowed her to examine other Early Modern recipe books.
“Some were really aged, and some were well-preserved,” she said. “We read through them and saw examples of how the process of transcription works.”
Letters, arts, and sciences major Hannah Pinson found learning social history at the Folger to be fascinating.
“It gave us the backgrounds of the people responsible for the recipe books,” she said. “We discovered what a wealthy person versus a peasant ate.”
Caitlin Wert, and English and business major, said the site visit was very engaging.
"Everyone has something they can relate to in these books," she said.